On Friday, March 31 I had the opportunity to go to Hershey Lodge for this year’s PSLA Conference with my team and was able to attend three different sessions, network with colleagues, “play” with makerspace items, and make connections with current and future vendors. For the final session of the day, the elementary library team, along with Dr. Kelly, was fortunate to be selected to present the history of the One District One Book program here at South Western and how it has made reading together a family experience.

The first session I attended was “Future Ready Librarians” presented by library gurus, Shannon McClintock Miller and Joyce Valenza. The role of the librarian was explored in connection with educational technology, empowering learners as creators, content curation, and instructional practices. It was exciting to learn that Dr. Rupp signed the online pledge on to support the Future Ready Schools to maximize digital learning!

The second session was “Using APPS and Databases to Bring More Choice to Research Projects.” Though I appreciated the presenters’ efforts, most of the APPS and databases were already familiar to me or had to be purchased for quite a substantial amount of money.

“Digital Tools and Apps to Connect, Create, and Collaborate” was the third session I chose. Shannon McClintock Miller presented a whirlwind plethora of ideas for learners to use as communicators and producers. Shannon shared stories and real-life examples of how she used these tools and brought learning to life. One of particular interest to me was Flipgrid where learners’ thoughts can be captured on a 90 second video with only a link or an access code. Buncee also seems like a great idea for digital storytelling in that original artwork can be uploaded and then kids share their thoughts and can put “stickers” on their original design. Lots of great ideas to implement to engage learners! Shannon gave us permission to share, so enjoy: